The Quimby Hotel

━ 07: The Key

Against his better judgment, Cairo was hidden behind a corridor alongside his sister, waiting. Waiting for who was a question he didn't exactly have the answer to yet.

"You're sure none of these men checked in on Sunday?" he asked, beginning to grow impatient. The longer they lingered here, the higher their chances of being discovered and questioned by a passing guest became, and besides that, he was sick of wasting time. All day he'd had to wait for Vienna's shift to be over, and being roped into helping his mother direct the new gardeners planting rows of flowers around the new fountain out back had done little to improve his mood.

She hushed him, swatting him away. He was tempted to break all her fingers. "I'm sure. Perhaps he's not on the fifth floor after all."

"My sources say otherwise."

"These mystical sources sound reliable indeed. If their word is true, we shouldn't be waiting for much longer. It's nearly evening, and everyone has to return to their room at some point or another."

Cairo elected to omit the detail that he in fact had only one source, who happened to be an overzealous frat boy. Vienna nudged him, nodding towards a guest coming down the hall. He was pretty much the picture of a guardsman: a thin face, a sharp nose, and entirely devoid of any expression other than whatever was the more pretentious equivalent of boredom. He was surprised by how young he was, clean-shaven and absent the weary lines that would have usually marked a tired law enforcement officer. Older than Cairo, maybe, but not by a lot. Must be new, he figured, disgusted by the captain's apparent willingness to put the lives of rookies on the line. Surely he was well aware how things would end for a spy placed within the Quimby family's domain.

"That one," Vienna whispered—unnecessarily, because it was about as obvious as anything could get. Still, the confirmation was good. Vienna would have remembered every face that came in that day and every face that left. His personal insecurities clawed at him. More quirks. Unlike Cairo, Vienna used her quirks all the time, even when she probably shouldn't. Especially then.

"Get me the room number," he murmured back after the spy had vanished into his room, and she straightened, smoothly transitioning into a casual stroll down the hall.

She passed by the door and continued on until she reached the elevator, waiting for a few moments before turning around and circling back again, glancing about with a furrowed brow as though she were slightly confused as to where she was going. Vienna ducked behind him once more.

"Five-twenty-four. Do not disturb sign on the door handle."

Cairo nodded. "Once he leaves again, I'll search the room."

"Why not just ambush him now?"

"In case you weren't paying attention, magical beings can't be harmed within the building."

"Do we count?"

"Father made it seem so." Cairo couldn't tear his stare away from the door of the room. "I'll have to corner him outside. He never said the grounds were protected. Just the hotel." The frat boy's words echoed in his mind—nature's loophole abusers. What a terribly accurate description.

Vienna checked her watch, a slim, elegant, thing in white gold studded with diamonds. Cairo wondered if it was fake or Tokyo had stolen it, because diamond watches were certainly not anything Vienna could afford on a room attendant's wages. Both explanations were plausible. It was a miracle their parents had still yet to realize that Tokyo slipped items off of the occasional well-dressed guest. Actually, there was a fair chance that Father knew and didn't care. "If we stay here much longer, we'll miss dinner," she noted, adjusting her flat-ironed hair. "Guests are less likely to leave their rooms late at night, so if you would like to search the room while it's empty, perhaps tomorrow morning would be a better idea."